Bulgaria may shift production

Trade union sources in Bulgaria say the Prista AD, leather manufacturers, are preparing to transfer production to South Africa because the Bulgarian market is being flooded with smuggled leather and leather products from Türkiye and China, according to the Bulgarian Economic Review. Prista have not commented. The company have an annual production capacity of 2.5 million sq m of processed leather but are reported as only operating at 10%. Prista are strategically important as they are the only Bulgarian company that have the capability of manufacturing leather furniture. South African diplomatic sources in Bulgaria were reported recently as saying that Bulgarian leather manufacturers plan to invest US$2 million in the country in a leather processing project.